ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate on Thursday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan's aide, Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, in a case pertaining to fraud allegedly committed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader.
Thousands of supporters of Khan have been arrested by security officials in recent weeks, his party says, escalating political tensions ahead of national elections this year.
Before Zaidi, another Khan aide, Ali Amin Gandapur, was arrested from Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province earlier this month. Other top Khan aides who have had cases registered against them and spent time in jail in recent months before posting bail include Chaudhary Fawad Hussain, a former federal minister, Dr Shahbaz Gill, Khan’s chief of staff, and Azam Swati, senior vice president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Khan says he has close to one hundred cases of terrorism, sedition, corruption and others registered against him. He says all are politically motivated.
Zaidi, who is the president of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh chapter party, was nabbed by police from Karachi's Defense Housing Authority (DHA) area on Saturday.
The PTI leader was arrested after a property dealer, Fazal Ilahi, filed a complaint alleging Zaidi had given him a “fake” property file in partial repayment of a loan. Zaidi denies the charges.
During a court hearing on Thursday, the judicial magistrate turned down police's request to detain the PTI leader further, accepting his bail plea. Speaking to reporters outside the court, Zaidi reiterated that charges against him were politically motivated.
"A person whom I have never met before, drafts a fake agreement, puts up fake signatures on it and signs it the day I am not even in the country," he said. "And this happened ten years ago, in 2013."
Zaidi said it was unfortunate how police arrested a sitting legislator like him based on a flimsy complaint.
"They wanted to hit my credibility, [to make it seem like] there are doubts on the credibility or integrity of those who are with Khan," he said, adding that it had had no effect.
Pakistan has been racked with political instability since last year when former premier Khan was ousted from office via a parliamentary vote. The ex-prime minister has refused to recognize the PM Shehbaz Sharif's government and has demanded snap elections.
Khan has been holding protests ever since his ouster and pressurizing the government to hold national elections, a demand Sharif has repeatedly rejected.
The ensuing confrontation between the government and opposition has led to the arrests of several Khan supporters and leaders. The former premier has even accused Sharif and key members of his government of being behind an attempt on his life last year.